


rush sykes, owner of two hands

by sagademadsen



Series: Except It’s Actually Sykisarda Content [2]
Category: The Last Remnant
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, OT3, almost guaranteed SFW since two of the characters are assumed ace and the author definitely is, also general tag for Rush just being Rush, dont say i didn’t warn you, featuring wholesome poly goodness, i am almost afraid to tag this at all but it looks weird without the tags, no beta we die like men, this might be au? I didn’t really consider that yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28361028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagademadsen/pseuds/sagademadsen
Summary: a collection of self-indulgency (which here just means I wanted to ship rush with my oc but also with dave so this was born)
Relationships: David Nassau/Rush Sykes, Rush Sykes/Original FemaleCharacter(s)
Series: Except It’s Actually Sykisarda Content [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959046
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	1. someone, please translate

**Author's Note:**

> hi hello welcome to my book of constant rush appreciation  
> this first chapter was inspired by a message from a friend/following conversation with friends, plus a cloud/zack reference, plus a reference to a comic- really, this is just reference central Huh.

The castle was quiet again today. This had been the case a lot lately. Such things happened when the castle’s ruler wasn’t around- there was less need to flutter about attending to him. 

David knew- in the case of Torgal, Emmy, and Pagus at least. Probably not Blocter- that he didn’t necessarily need to give a reason he was leaving the castle. But these days he, more than before, was dashing away with a hasty “I need to gather some materials,” and even with this he felt… not guilty, but perhaps mischievous was a better word? 

There was something to be said though, about the fact that he was very likely not being as secretive as he thought he was. He had not always said “I need to gather some materials.” One time he had said “I’m going to gather some materials with Rush and Radelia,” and the resulting sound from Pagus had pretty much confirmed that he knew more than material gathering was at stake here. 

For the young marquis had entered his current arrangement with the two not long ago and more so than trying to navigate his feelings for either of them, was trying to do so while being a responsible ruler. And so this was his solution; getting out of the castle for a few hours at a time. A few hours where he could hear himself think- and be in the company of two people that if he said so himself, he quite liked being around. 

“Is that so…” he tuned in to Radelia saying. It was Rush that had introduced him to the intriguing purple-haired girl, and it was also Rush that had initiated this romantic triangle- but if one were to ask David, he was quite fond of Radelia too. Not as much as Rush obviously, but there was something about her personality and mannerisms that made him smile. For example: her “is that so,” often used when Rush was being… well, Rush (something which both she and David agreed was a large part of his charm). 

“Seriously. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.” Rush nodded, his dark hair bouncing a bit. 

“I see. David, were you aware of this?” Radelia had now brought him into it- which wasn’t something she usually did, which must have meant Rush had said something way out there- something David hadn’t heard. 

Thankfully it wasn’t long before Rush chimed in. “Well I mean, if you’ve never noticed, of course Dave wouldn’t. He’s probably never even held his own hampy boi, let alone scuttled it to the laundry.”

“I suppose. And I don’t mean to discredit you at all, Rush. But you must understand how _wicked_ of a claim it is, to say that one’s tubes would just vanish from the inner pickle like that.”

“Well then, explain why you only have one when the whole tumble is over?” 

“That’s a mystery indeed. To claim though, that it’s vanishment… the concept is doing my brain a giant yeet.”

David stared- a mix of confusion of horror- at the two. 

_ What language is this?  _

“It’s not a hard concept at all! Dave-“

Rush turned, to find David on his knees in despair. 

“I’ve studied four languages… none of them were this…”

“Is something wrong, David?” Radelia had walked over to him, gently placing a hand on his blond hair. 

“Ah! Oh. I didn’t realize you were paying attention to me. Forgive my bluntness, but when did you and Rush learn a new language? When did you have the time?!”

A look came over Radelia’s face then, she immediately understood. “Rush, I think our informal speech is confusing our poor marquis.”

“Really? Ah man. Can’t believe I never considered that would be a problem. Sorry, Dave.”

“Informal speech?” The blond repeated. 

“Yeah. People who aren’t from big cities are different than big city folk, you know?” Rush replied. “The way we dress, the foods we eat, the walk, the talk. And Radelia and I aren’t just not royalty- we’re your favorite backwater experts!”

Actually, this was a curious notion- one David was surprised he’d never thought of before- whether it be Rush being literally not from the mainland at all, and Radelia being from such a remote town like Melphina; both of them being so far from Athlum, their vocabulary was probably different, right? And it was equally interesting that Radelia, as formal as she tended to be, had no problem effortlessly slipping in and out of regional slang. 

“I think we should be more conscientious of what we say around David in the future, Rush,” Radelia said then. 

“Yeah, of course! And we’ll make sure to watch what we say around you too!” Rush added, putting an arm around both of his companions. He earned a subtle laugh from both of them. “But maybe in the future we can teach him some stuff too. You can’t date a backwater expert and not become one.”

“Ah, is that so?” Now David was saying it. He felt that he was beginning to understand why Radelia said it so much. 

“Can’t have you being left out!” Rush grinned. “And lucky you- you have _two_ of us. You’ll learn twice as fast!”

He continued to talk as the trio made their way through the Ivory Peaks. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah at first I was legit gonna make up random words but then I realized I’d need to include a footnote explaining them and I instantly aged ten years so instead have this
> 
> since I am a coward and won’t post the actual story of how Rush met Radelia in the first place here (if you really wanna dig, it’s on Wattpad) I probably will just stuff random tidbits in the end notes
> 
> Radelia is pronounced [ra-del-ee-ah] and she’s 17


	2. the intimacy of nicknames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a little discussion of the familiarity of nicknames- and recognizing how eager Rush usually is to give them out

Being almost complete strangers when Rush introduced the idea of a triangular relationship, David and Radelia had a lot of learning about each other to do, and it felt like much of that needed to be done pretty quickly. And after the obvious things, the thing that David often found himself thinking of was names.

At their first meeting- which David would always think of as the point where Rush oh so conveniently forgot to mention _why_ he was introducing them- he remembered that Radelia had addressed him as Marquis Nassau, with a graceful curtsy, but this for some reason embarrassed him, and stressed that just David was fine. It took her a while to come down from Marquis Nassau to Marquis David to just David (and not being visibly strained while saying it) but she finally was there now, and for this he was grateful. 

(Rush later told him that she’d also started off with calling him Master Sykes, but she’d embarrassedly insisted that this was Melphinian norm.)

This worked in reverse too kind of- how he’d initially addressed her as Miss Felysarda when they were still new to each other. At one point she’d asked, “Wouldn’t my first name be easier to say?” (Which, not really- they were both four syllables long, but that was a debate for another day) and from then on he’d alternated first and last name. 

Meeting her cousin solidified her as just Radelia- but that was also a story for another day. 

But sometimes David thought about how Rush had almost immediately called him Dave, and to this day was the only one who did. Looking back this was almost definitely a precursor to his feelings for him… David had been so oblivious in hindsight, but at least they were together now. And it wasn’t just him- he’d heard Rush call Radelia by a nickname sometimes, but only when they were alone, because she’d get very flustered if they weren’t- and Rush very obviously would forget this and hurry to switch to her name. 

This necessitated a question that David resolved to ask his (girlfriend? His boyfriend’s girlfriend?) when he saw her again. And this day came one rainy day when everyone had holed up in Athlum’s castle. 

“Ah, Radelia. May I have a word?”

She turned to him, looking slightly confused but welcoming nevertheless. “Yes, of course. What is it?” 

The two walked to the courtyard, mostly in silence. Finally David said, “You know, sometimes I wonder…” 

“Yes?”

“I know that the relationship that I have with you is quite ambiguous at this point, but I do wonder. You’ve… never wanted to just call me Dave, like Rush does?”

“Oh.” Radelia blinked in surprise. “I’ve never considered that, honestly. But I don’t… I don’t think it would be right for me to do that.” 

“You don’t think it would be right?” Now David was the confused one. 

“I’ve always believed… that nicknames are special, and since that’s what Rush calls you, that it was special. After all, no one else here calls you that, not even Torgal.” 

“Ah.” David nodded. “Maybe it is special now. But he did literally start calling me Dave within ten seconds of us meeting.” 

Radelia laughed. “That is so like him.”

“It is, isn’t it?” David agreed, laughing with her. 

“And well… Rush calls me Del, but you don’t, so that has just furthered my belief that nicknames are special.”

“Ah, that’s what it is? To be honest, I’m so used to hearing ‘de-uh, Radelia’ that I never realized it was so short,” replied David. 

“Yes, I… may have told him it embarrasses me to be addressed so familiarly in front of people.” 

The area got quiet then. 

“It’s quite a curious thought that, as special as he is to me- you as well- neither of us have fostered a nickname for Rush?” Radelia asked. 

“Oh. You’re right.” David nodded. “What can I say? Rush fits him.” 

There was a tiny silence before they laughed again. 

“Perhaps in time, we’ll come up with our own nicknames for each other,” Radelia said then. 

Now this was an interesting thought. David had to ask himself if he could even fathom the idea of being close enough to Radelia that she felt comfortable nicknaming him. And as he put an arm around her waist, giving her a protective kiss on the forehead, he thought it was a very nice thought. “Perhaps so,” he agreed. “Maybe I’ll aspire to that.”

Footsteps graced the courtyard then, and Rush soon came around the corner, seemingly eating something. “Oh! Hey, Dave and Del. Oh, I mean-“

“It’s all right, Rush. Calling me by my nickname in front of David is- it’s okay.”

“Whoa, really?” Rush was shocked. “…you two have gotten closer lately, huh?”

As if David’s hand remaining at Radelia’s waist wasn’t an obvious enough sign. 

“Well, I’m glad! I mean, you guys know I love you both, but I’ve always felt there being some kinda roadblocks in the way between you guys’ relationship.”

Rush put a hand on both of their heads (which was easy to do with him being the tallest), giving their hair a slight tousle. He thought a bit of how David’s blond hair was so straight and slick, whereas Radelia’s purple wavy hair was soft and bouncy- both pleasing to the touch, especially both being heads of the people he loved.

“Are you sure it wasn’t the ‘confessing your love to both of us when we weren’t even on a first-name basis yet’ thing causing that?” David poked fun at him. 

“Please give us more of a warning if our love becomes a quadrangle, is all I’m asking,” Radelia agreed with David. 

“Aw. I knew it would work out, so I didn’t see the point in waiting!” Rush smiled. “You both make me so happy that I just knew you could make each other happy! Now come on, I was looking for you so we could all go eat.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y’all are probably confused at a specific line in this and it is my fault:  
> when Dave starts calling Radelia just Radelia it’s because he meets her cousin (Khrynia btw, that’s kind of important to why she’s a magic user) and finds out they have the same last name  
> welp that’s gonna double as the info tidbit for this so see ya later


	3. athlum, the winter wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which snow is suddenly the most fascinating thing in the world for a time. aka it snowed for the first time this year in my area and this is a commemorative piece

Generally- or at least for the duration of time she’d been here- Radelia had learned that Athlum was notably colder than Melphina. And she had been trying her best to adjust to it, whether it be dressing a little warmer or trying to build up a resistance by studying outside. But today… today, even under her warm fluffy sheets she was still freezing. And so- even with as much as she hated being waited on she called for one of the attendants of the castle. Maybe they’d know why it was so particularly frigid today.

“Good morning, Madam Felysarda. Is something wrong?” asked the attendant as she walked into the room.

“Oh- please don’t call me that. Radelia will be fine. Um, if it isn’t too much trouble, may I ask for another blanket?”

The attendant stared at the bed. “One, two, three…” she counted, trying to be discreet-

“There are seven. Will an eighth be too much?” Radelia immediately hoped she didn’t come off rude, but if she waited too long she worried that she may lose feeling in her toes. 

“I… suppose not. After all, Lord David explicitly said we must take care to ensure your and Master Sykes’ happiness… however unorthodox the request may be.” 

“Morning!” Rush peeked into the room, but came in when he noticed the scene inside. “Everything okay?”

“Do you not feel the dreadful cold, Rush?” Radelia asked, sinking back into her bedsheets. “I’m suffering.”

With a smirk, Rush motioned for the attendant to leave them alone. He pat the bed a few times, trying to find where Radelia’s legs were, and sat exactly where her feet were- she’d usually complain, but today Rush’s butt was useful in the warmth it carried. 

“You know there’s a reason you’re so cold today.”

“Is there?”

“Yeah. Have you looked outside at all? There’s like five inches and counting of snow out there.”

This got Radelia’s attention. She peeked back out of her bedsheets, her brown eyes focused on Rush. “Snow?”

“Yeah. See, come here.”

He directed her to the window in the room, and Radelia was amazed by what she saw next. Everything outside the view of her room, covered in a fuzzy blanket of white. The sun was out, but concealed in a dense amount of haze- still enough to make the flakes sparkle intermittently. She could just see well enough that a few people were out and about, and some of the castle attendants were shoveling a path from the castle entrance into town. 

“I… I don’t know what to say, Rush. I had never imagined that it would be so magnificent in person.”

He smiled, patting her back. “Get dressed. We’re gonna go outside in it.”

“We are?!” Radelia sounded more excited over this than just about anything else, bar Rush asking her to accompany him on this adventure. “Oh, um, yes, very well. I’ll make sure to dress nice and warm.” 

* * *

Outside of Athlum’s castle, Rush waited- he wondered, should he have stuck around to help Radelia with what she should wear for the weather, but immediately after he’d wondered that she came outside, appropriately bundled. And upon seeing the look of disbelief from Rush she explained, “I had a little help from Pagus. He was very insightful.” 

Good man, Pagus. “Always is. Now come on, before the kids have all the fun!” 

Taking her hand he led her just outside of the castle where many people in the square were either shopping or playing about in the snow. Not very far out, Radelia lifted her arms, closing her eyes and letting the flakes gently fall on her face. Surprisingly this was not as cold as she’d expected. Strangely serene. 

She was then brought back to reality by Rush holding her waist from behind, snuggling close. “Aren’t you cold?”

“I thought for sure I would be. Perhaps I will, once my body realizes where I am.” 

“Oh, I getcha. Then that just means we should enjoy it while we can, yeah?”

Turning to face Rush, and smiling, Radelia nodded. “Yes, absolutely.” 

The two tenderly kissed, but not for long- before Rush felt a snowball hit the back of his head, some of the snow from the impact tickling Radelia’s face enough to make her break the kiss. Only slightly annoyed, Rush turned around. “Blocter! Why’d you have to go and do that!”

“Aw, come on! I’m just tryin’ to have some fun with you kids.”

He walked over then, Radelia noticing that he was not as bundled as Rush and herself. Perhaps yama were a little more frostproof than mitra. “What’re you doing out here, anyway?”

“Just showing Del her first snow,” replied Rush. “She’s pretty excited about it.”

“Huh? First snow? It doesn’t snow in Melphina?” Blocter was confused. 

“With its proximity to Mt. Vackel, that’s a common misconception- but no, it doesn’t,” replied Radelia. “Snow is more of a commonality in, say, Undelwalt. The moderate temperatures you felt when visiting- and meeting me, also- is how it is year-round. I’ve only ever read about snow, so seeing it in person is… it’s magnificent in a way I can’t quite articulate.” 

“Huh. Interesting. Well, you sure do look happy. So happy, where’s Lord David? I’m sure he’d like to see you beaming like this!”

This made Radelia feel more embarrassed than excited, and she covered her reddening cheeks with her hands. “Aw, don’t be so shy, Del. You know Dave loves it when you smile- almost as much as I do! Anyway, I didn’t see him when I went looking, Blocter. You think he had some kinda royal engagement today?” 

“Maybe. He has so many that they’re hard to keep up with…” Blocter shrugged. “But hey! While you’re waiting for him to get back, I’m always open to kicking your ass in a snowball fight.” 

“Oh, you are on,” agreed Rush. “You coming, Del?” 

Radelia was already tired of trying to discreetly ask Rush to not nickname her in front of Blocter, and just shook her head. “I may be more inclined to the calmer aspects of snow-time enjoyment. I think I’d rather make a… ‘snowman.’” I’ll be right over there.”

“Okay. Have fun, and stay warm! Me and Blocter are gonna go further out of town- more snow there.” 

“Please have fun as well, Rush.” She smiled, giving his hand a squeeze before letting it go and waving. 

Radelia wasn’t at her snowman-making for long before she heard footsteps approaching- and before she knew it, David had crouched down beside her. “He’s a bit of a small lad,” he said, pointing at her malformed attempt. 

“Oh! Good morning, David. I’m not quite accustomed to the physics of snow. I’ll have to study…”

“Ah, yes- this is your first winter in the north, isn’t it? You’ll learn, I’m sure. Rush always does mention how sharp you are.”

“I wish he wouldn’t flatter me so much. It’s a bit embarrassing…” 

Radelia had been out and about long enough that David couldn’t tell if the redness on her cheeks was from the cold or the embarrassment. “It’s only because he loves you. He does the same for me.”

“Yes, I’m aware. I suppose it’s just that… I’m not really… well, you know that I lived alone for quite a long time before now. I’m not used to having anyone around who can flatter me so.”

“It’s one of the ways we’re like night and day, I suppose,” agreed David. “One of the things that makes me happy though- I see the progress. Rush is learning to embarrass you less. You’re learning to accept compliments. Eventually I believe you’ll hit a rhythm- one where there won’t be any second-guessing as to the appropriate way to speak and react to one another. I envy the connection that you and Rush have sometimes; despite how clumsily your words to one another sometimes fall together, the attachment you have is… it’s so strong.” 

“I never thought I’d hear you say something like that, I’m shocked.” Radelia looked away, “Especially since you and Rush, you know… you satisfy each other in ways I can’t.” Or felt that she couldn’t, at least. 

David laughed at this, which startled Radelia- but he put a hand on her shoulder, reassuring her that it was of good nature. “My dearest Radelia. Surely you don’t believe that relationships that include a sexual aspect are more potent, or are of more inportance than others.”

“Of course not. But I know that many others do, and I… I mustn’t be so anxious about such things. After all, I assume there’s a reason I’ve been given my own room in the castle too.”

“And I’m sure you already know what it is. Now, come- your face is getting so red from the cold. I’ll have the cooks make us some nice, hearty soup; with enough for Rush and Blocter, because you know they’ll be out there _much_ longer than is sensible.”

This made Radelia laugh as David escorted her back to the castle. The cold was probably going to hit her the moment she was inside, but at least the morning had been pretty fun. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a creative liberty… I assumed it’d snow in athlum bc it’s so far north, but then again whomst even knows  
> this chapter’s fun Radelia fact is one that was implied from the chapter: that she’s ace(asexual)   
> see ya on the other side!


	4. winter wonderland, pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cold weather means cold rooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on a prompt: person a cuddles with person b and gets used to the warmth, person a yells at person b when they’re gone because then the warmth is gone

The bedroom arrangement in Athlum’s castle now was… dubious at best. In terms of provisions and clothing and things of the like, Rush, David, and Radelia obviously had their own rooms. And notably, they were all close to each other. But whether they actually spent the night in their own rooms… well that was up for debate. As a matter of fact, Torgal didn’t recall a night where they all stayed in their own rooms. Torgal, forever the watchful eye, always noticed those moments late at night where Rush would venture into David’s room, or vice versa- he’d make sure to keep his distance those nights to give them their privacy, that or excuse himself so he didn’t hear anything he didn’t want to. On the contrary he noticed that on the nights that Rush wandered into Radelia’s room he would do so fairly early into the night. And on those nights, Torgal didn’t hear any specific sounds. Nor did he ever smell that faint scent of fluid transmission. 

He did however notice that the frequency of these nights increased when the days got colder. 

There was one night where Torgal wasn’t in the corridor when Radelia walked past after cleaning up for the night, and this struck her as peculiar. None of the Four Generals were around, making things even more confusing. She didn’t know what to do from here, and stood thinking about it until she heard steps coming down the hallway and noticed Emmy. 

“Are you going to bed, Radelia? Good night,” she said. 

“Um, not quite yet I don’t think. If I am permitted to know, why isn’t Torgal here? I usually see him all the time after I’ve taken my bath; he’s usually standing right there,” Radelia pointed. “Is he all right?”

“He’s with Lord David on a quest to find some echidnamoths and a few other things. I thought you knew that?” asked Emmy. 

“Yes, I did, but… they left so early. Rush is with them; are you sure they haven’t returned? Darken Forest isn’t so far that it would take this long, is it? I don’t recall the route being so treacherous that it would take so long. Perhaps we should start working on a plan to discover their status, to investigate the delay-“

Emmy just watched, sort of amused at how flustered Radelia was getting. 

“-for the night. Oh my, this is quite inconvenient… is there no way we can contact them?”

“You’ve no need to worry about the boys’ safety, if that’s what has you this worked up,” Emmy reassured her. “Torgal and Blocter are with them. There’s almost no chance of them coming to any harm.” 

“That isn’t what I… ah… very well,” Radelia nodded, her spirits deflated. “Thank you for your time. I’ll be off to bed now.” 

And so Radelia curled up in her bed, noticing that it was starting to snow again outside. Which usually meant it would get colder in her room… she sighed, and tried her best to think warm thoughts. 

Hours later, when David’s brigade returned to the castle and after everyone had dispersed from the main areas, both Rush and David made the trip to where their rooms were- but Rush hesitated. “I wonder if Del is asleep.” 

“Oh.” David turned to him. “It’s late, so I’d assume so.”

“Yeah, but…” Rush turned toward the room again. “Hold on a minute. I need to check on her.”

David followed him, intrigued as to why he was being so insistent in this. The two noticed upon entry that Radelia was definitely asleep, but she was completely covered in her bedsheets, so much so that only a tiny piece of her purple hair was visible. 

“Why is she?” started David. 

“Remember that Del’s hometown doesn’t get snow. It’s so cold that she’s been freezing every night, so I’ve been trying to share the bed with her every night so she won’t get cold.”

“Ah.” David nodded. “She’s quite adorable.”

“Yep.” Rush smiled. “We chose well.”

“ _You_ chose well,” David laughed. “But I have no complaints either way.” 

David placed a soft kiss on Rush’s cheek, and then realized in his peripheral vision that Radelia was waking up. “Ah. So she awakens before I can kiss you fully.” 

Radelia pushed her blankets aside, rubbing her eyes. When she could see again, she immediately stood up and walked over to the boys. “Rush Sykes, where in the hell have you been? Do you understand how cold my bed has been?! I was shivering-“ 

Noticing David there she composed herself. 

“I’m sorry. I… I was worried. I don’t mean to say that I was only disparaged because of my own personal inconvenience.” 

“That was first of mind though, wasn’t it?” David chuckled. “Why didn’t you ever mention it being so cold for you, Radelia?” 

“Well… I should have, but… part of me does like cuddling with Rush,” she admitted softly. 

“Ah.” David nodded. “Still, if it’s such a problem that you need so much extra heat, I’ll ask Torgal. Tomorrow. Tonight, there’s a bed perfectly ready for the two of you.”

“Yeah. Dave, don’t you wanna join us?” Rush asked. “Three bodies means three times the warmth!”

“Yes, but this is your time. Rush, we have our times together. Radelia, someday we may as well. It is only fair that you two also have your moments of intimacy together.”

“Intimacy?” Rush frowned. “You know we aren’t having se-“

“Thank you, David. We’ll be retiring for the night now.” Radelia smiled, with a bow as she steered Rush toward her bed. “Good night!” 


End file.
